Flexible and stretchable sheet materials useful in forming protective and decorative coatings

A flexible and stretchable sheet material adapted for use in a thermoforming process in which it is stretched to conform to a three-dimensional substrate and bonded thereto so as to form a smooth and wrinkle-free protective and decorative coating thereon, said sheet material comprising:

• (1) a thin, essentially planar, stretchable, thermoplastic polymeric support of substantially uniform thickness;
• and
• (2) a thin paint layer of substantially uniform thickness on one surface of said thermoplastic polymeric support, said paint layer comprising a colorant incorporated in a film-forming binder;
• said thermoplastic polymeric support having heat-softening and tensile elongation properties which adapt it to use in said thermoforming process;
• said paint layer having heat-softening and tensile elongation properties that are compatible with those of said thermoplastic polymeric support so as to permit symmetrical elongation from a relaxed state to an extended state, whereby said sheet material can undergo substantial elongation by the application of stretching forces without crazing of said paint layer nor delamination of said paint layer from said thermoplastic polymeric support;
• and said sheet material having a distinctness of image as measured by ASTM Test E-430 of at least 80 and a 20° gloss of at least about 80 both in the unstretched state and in a stretched state having a stretched area at least 50% greater than the unstretched area, and wherein the decorative coating comprises a pigmented exterior automotive base coat paint layer adhered to an exterior automotive outer clear coat layer, in which the base coat layer and outer clear coat layer both have a substantially unstressed relaxed state and a relaxed area prior to thermoforming, in which both of the base coat layer and clear coat layer are thermoplastically formable to said stretched area of at least 50% greater than said relaxed area, in which the base coat paint layer contains reflective flakes, in which the decorative and protective coating has a distinctness of image of at least 80 and a 20° gloss of at least 80 in both said relaxed and extended states, and in which the sheet material has a maximum optical density variation of less than 0.3 density units from the mean optical density of the sheet material.

A flexible and stretchable sheet material adapted for use in a thermoforming process in which it is stretched to conform to a three-dimensional substrate and bonded thereto so as to form a smooth and wrinkle-free protective and decorative coating thereon, said sheet material comprising:

• (1) a thin, essentially planar, stretchable, thermoplastic polymeric support of substantially uniform thickness;
• (2) a thin basecoat layer on one surface of said support, said basecoat layer comprising a colorant incorporated in a film-forming binder;
• and
• (3) a thin topcoat layer overlying said basecoat layer, said topcoat layer comprising a cross-linked polymer;
• wherein said protective and decorative paint layer comprises a pigmented exterior automotive base coat paint layer adhered to an exterior automotive outer clear coat layer, both of which are thermoplastically formable to an extended area least 50% greater than said relaxed area, in which the base coat paint layer contains reflective flakes, in which the decorative and protective layer has a distinctness of image of at least 80 and a 20° gloss of at least 80 in both said relaxed and extended states, and in which the sheet material has a maximum optical density variation of less than 0.3 density units from the mean optical density of the sheet material;
• said support, basecoat layer and topcoat layer having heat-softening and tensile elongation properties which render said sheet material suitable for use in said thermoforming process and which are mutually compatible so as to permit symmetrical elongation, whereby said sheet material can undergo substantial elongation by the application of stretching forces without crazing or delamination of said basecoat and topcoat layers;
• and said support, basecoat layer and topcoat layer being of sufficiently uniform character that said sheet material exhibits substantially the same uniformity of appearance before and after said thermoforming process.

A structural element comprising a substrate having securely bonded to at least one surface thereof in a smooth and wrinkle-free state a protective and decorative coating formed from a flexible and stretchable sheet material comprising:

• (1) a thin, essentially planar, stretchable, thermoplastic polymeric support of substantially uniform thickness;
• and
• (2) a thin paint layer of substantially uniform thickness on one surface of said thermoplastic polymeric support, said paint layer comprising a colorant incorporated in a film-forming binder;
• said thermoplastic polymeric support having heat-softening and tensile elongation properties which adapt it to use in said thermoforming process;
• said paint layer having heat-softening and tensile elongation properties that are compatible with those of said thermoplastic polymeric support so as to permit symmetrical elongation from a relaxed state to an extended state, whereby said sheet material can undergo substantial elongation by the application of stretching forces without crazing of said paint layer nor delamination of said paint layer from said thermoplastic polymeric support;
• said sheet material having a distinctness of image as measured by ASTM Test E430 of at least 80 and a 20° gloss of at least 80;
• wherein the protective and decorative coating comprises a pigmented exterior automotive base coat paint layer adhered to an exterior automotive outer clear coat paint layer, in which the base coat layer and the outer clear coat layer have a substantially unstressed relaxed state and a relaxed area prior to thermoforming, in which both of the base coat layer and the clear coat layer are thermoplastically formable up to at least 50% greater than said relaxed area, in which the base coat paint layer contains reflective flakes, in which the decorative and protective coating has a distinctness of image of at least 80 and a 20° gloss of at least 80 in both said relaxed and extended states, and in which the sheet material has a maximum optical density variation of less than 0.3 density units from the mean optical density of the sheet material.

A flexible protective and decorative sheet material for covering substrates, said sheet material having a substantially unstressed relaxed state and a relaxed area;

• said sheet material being heat softenable to a substantially plastic state in which it is plastically extendable and formable over three-dimensionally shaped irregular surfaces to an extended state having an extended area at least 50% greater than said relaxed area and having a substantially uniform quality and appearance in both said relaxed and extended states of said sheet material, wherein the protective and decorative sheet material comprises a pigmented exterior automotive base coat paint layer adhered to an exterior automotive outer clear coat paint layer both of which are thermoplastically formable up to at least 50% greater than said relaxed area, in which the base coat paint layer contains reflective flakes, in which the decorative and protective sheet material has a distinctness of image as measured by ASTM Test E-430 of at least 80 in both said relaxed and extended states, in which the support sheet has a substantially uniform thickness in the range from about 0.05 to about 0.40 millimeters, in which the decorative and protective sheet material has a 20° gloss of at least 80 in both said relaxed and extended states, and in which the maximum optical density variation of said sheet material is less than 0.3 units from the mean density of said material.

A protective and decorative sheet material for covering substrates comprising:

• a thin flexible support sheet;
• an adhesive layer on one surface of said support sheet for bonding same to a substrate;
• an adhesion promoting layer adhered to an opposite surface of said support sheet from said adhesive layer;
• and
• a decorative and protective layer adhered to said adhesion promoting layer;
• wherein the protective and decorative sheet material comprises a pigmented exterior automotive base coat paint layer adhered to an exterior automotive outer clear coat paint layer, in which the base coat layer and the outer clear coat layer have a substantially unstressed relaxed state and a relaxed area prior to thermoforming, in which both of the base coat layer and the outer clear coat layer are thermoplastically formable up to at least 50% greater than said relaxed area, in which the base coat paint layer contains reflective flakes, in which the decorative and protective layer has a distinctness of image as measured by ASTM Test E-430 of at least 80 in both said relaxed state and an extended state following thermoforming, in which the support sheet has a substantially uniform thickness in the range from about 0.05 to about 0.40 millimeters, in which the decorative and protective sheet material has a 20° gloss of at least 80 in both said relaxed and extended states, and in which the maximum optical density variation of said sheet material is less than 0.3 units from the mean density of said material.